Supporters have rallied around a Sacramento bakery which made a transgender Ken doll cake after a backlash attacking the creation as “disgusting”.

Freeport Bakery – which was voted the best in the city in 2015 by Sacramento Magazine – posted the picture of the cake on Facebook on 13 August. There was a swift backlashto the post, which received hundreds of comments attacking the bakery.

The negative comments have since been deleted, and hundreds more have been posted in support of the bakery.

“Naively, I guess, I just thought this is a really cool cake, and look at how great they did with the butter cream,” Marlene Goetzeler, co-owner of the bakery, told a local Fox affiliate. “What’s wrong with a Ken cake?”

“I started getting some negative comments ... Then a couple days later I noticed there was a big dip in unlikes. I was kind of surprised,” Goetzeler told the station. “I was shocked that somebody would be offended.”

The cake was designed for a party for a local group that meets regularly to play dice games. Chad Graham, who attended the party at which the cake was served, told the station that the cake was not intended to be a political statement.

‘We have received that support and so much more from our fans, devoted customers and staff.’ Photograph: Freeport Bakery/Facebook

“A customer requested a Ken doll cake and we were happy to make it; she loved the cake when she picked it up,” the bakery said in a statement posted to its website. “We were especially proud of its buttercream detail so we decided to post a photo of it on our Facebook page, as we do with many of the cakes we design and adore.”

“A few days later, we noticed a large number of unlikes on our page and realized they were a result of our Ken cake post,” the statement continued. “We reposted the picture asking for support from our Facebook friends. Luckily, we have received that support and so much more from our fans, devoted customers and staff.”

Since the image was first posted, the local community has posted hundreds of messages of support to the bakery on its Facebook page.

“Haters of one outstanding cake, be serious! Ken never looked so good!” one wrote. “With a lot news reports saying in other states refusing to make wedding cakes for same-sex marriages, you make me proud to live in a diverse and accepting community! You have my support!” said another.

Others from further afield have also joined their voices in support of Freeport and the Ken cake. “I’m liking this page all the way from Mallorca, because I find this story truly inspiring,” one wrote. “Instead of deleting the post due to backlash or issuing an apology for all the butthurt people, you’re just saying; ‘This is our job, we do as the costumers request, if they want a Ken-doll in a dress for a cake, you’re damn sure they’ll get it.’”